Russian Move Criticized

Published: May 17, 2000

WASHINGTON, May 16—
The State Department criticized Russia today for inviting the Yugoslav defense minister, who has been indicted on charges of war crimes, to five days of talks in Moscow earlier this month. The minister, Gen. Dragoljub Ojdanic, also attended a military parade in Red Square.

General Ojdanic, like President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia, was indicted in The Hague on charges of crimes in Kosovo. A State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said, ''Russia, like all U.N. member states,'' is obliged ''to arrest war criminals who enter its territory.'' Russia was served with a copy of the indictment, he said, so ''there can be no doubt that they knew that he was an indicted war criminal.''